It’s lunchtime on a weekday, and things are popping at Country Kitchen. The lively hum of spirited conversations knocks about with the soft clatter of pots and pans from the open kitchen. Steam billows up from pots of rollicking water as deft hands drop in freshly cut noodles. Towards the back, there’s the flicker of flames roasting whole ducks and legs of lamb over logs of jujube wood. Tiny, perfect flourishes litter the scene – old-school copper cups polished to a high sheen; pale, weathered bricks usually only found in the countryside.

The menu is unapologetically Northern Chinese, a tribute to the noodles of Shaanxi and dumplings of dongbei. Drop on a generous bow of thick, knife-cut noodles topped with tender chunks of braised beef brisket, or on rolled-up, steamed buckwheat noodles accompanied by an outstanding roasted duck and black mushroom sauce. It’s more than double what you’d pay at any small hole-in-the-wall on the side of the street, but they’re good – very good – and you’ve got a more stylish ambiance than you’d ever know what to do with.

Equally as admirable as elaborate kitchen acrobatics that turn out complex favors is a chef’s restraint. The Liu Gou Village tofu comes from a town in Yanqing county renowned for its bean curd, and Chai’s kitchen treats it with due care. A pleasing, wobbly block of the delicate tofu is gently steamed and served unadorned. It’s spectacular in its simplicity.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is Country Kitchen – complex when you want it, simple when you need it and pretty much on point at every turn.

Address: Third Floor, Rosewood Beijing, Jing Guang Centre, 1 Chaoyangmen Dajie, Chaoyang District 朝阳区朝阳门外大街1号京广中心瑰丽酒店3层

Source: timeoutbeijing.com